Bleach: The Path to Transcendence

"Creak, creak!"

In the silent desert of sand, a grating chewing sound echoed relentlessly.

Before long, the massive two-meter-long lizard Hollow was completely devoured by Vritra. Yet, he felt no sense of fullness, as if he could consume a hundred more of them without issue.

After fully digesting the creature, Vritra noticed that his overall spiritual pressure had increased by about one-twentieth. He also vaguely felt that his body had grown slightly larger.

During the process, he realized that less than forty percent of the gained spiritual energy came from the lizard Hollow's flesh. The remaining sixty percent or more originated from the few shattered pieces of its mask.

"The texture is quite unique... kind of like compressed biscuits."

Feeling the surge in his spiritual pressure, a satisfied grin appeared on Vritra's pale face.

For the days that followed, Vritra roamed the vast desert just as before, tirelessly hunting for more Hollows. After half a month of relentless searching and venturing deeper into the sands, he finally encountered more of them.

However, every single Hollow he came across was the same as the first—mindless, driven only by savage instinct. It was clear that possessing human-like intelligence, as Vritra did, was a rare anomaly.

On this particular day, Vritra buried his entire body beneath the sand, leaving only half of his head exposed as he stealthily moved forward.

"Roar!"

A piercing howl suddenly tore through the air. From a distance, a black-and-red beam of energy shot forth, carrying a terrifying heat. The beam barely missed Vritra, who was hidden beneath the sand, and instead struck a massive forty-meter-long worm-like Hollow in front of him.

The worm Hollow let out a bloodcurdling scream as it was sliced cleanly in half by the beam. The residual energy struck the ground, sending clouds of dust billowing into the sky, leaving Vritra trembling beneath the sand.

"That was... a Cero!"

Though Vritra had seen this signature attack of Menos Grande countless times in the original anime, witnessing it firsthand was far more terrifying.

Following the trajectory of the Cero, his gaze landed on a towering, nearly one-hundred-meter-tall figure with jet-black skin. A ring of deep white bone spikes encircled its neck, and a single sharp horn protruded from the center of its pure white mask. Its entire body radiated an overwhelming spiritual pressure.

"A Gillian... No, this isn't an ordinary Gillian!"

During his half-month of exploration, this wasn't the first time Vritra had encountered a Gillian. He still remembered spotting a group of them three days ago, marching toward the depths of the desert—toward the place known as the Forest of Menos.

But the one before him now was different. It was much larger than the others he had seen, and its mask bore a completely unique design.

"An Abnormal Gillian!"

Vritra sucked in a cold breath. He immediately understood—this Gillian was one of the rare few that retained intelligence after evolving.

In the original story, a Gillian was born from the fusion of over a hundred ravenous Hollows devouring each other. Since most Hollows had little to no intelligence to begin with, the process typically erased all individuality, leaving behind a mindless giant.

But there were exceptions. A rare few retained their sense of self and continued to devour others, growing ever stronger. These intelligent Hollows had a real chance—not just of evolving into the mid-tier Adjuchas class but even reaching the highest rank of Vasto Lorde.

At this moment, Vritra felt his heart leap into his throat. His current body was not as large as the worm Hollow, but to an Abnormal Gillian, he was nothing more than a light snack.

Then, without warning, the situation took a drastic turn.

The upper half of the worm Hollow, which had been split in two by the Cero, suddenly lunged toward the sand—desperately burrowing in the direction where Vritra lay hidden.

"Oh crap! Stay away from me!"

Watching the half-bodied worm Hollow frantically crawling toward him, Vritra felt a massive headache coming on. If it led that Abnormal Gillian straight to him, he'd be finished!

Meanwhile, the Abnormal Gillian observed the scene with amusement. Its deep-white mask twisted into a mocking expression, and a hint of contempt gleamed in its massive pupils.

"Whoosh!"

Before Vritra could react, the Abnormal Gillian vanished in an instant. In the blink of an eye, it reappeared right in the worm Hollow's path, as if teleporting. With its massive, spike-covered right hand, it reached down and snatched the writhing half-body into the air.

"Sonído!?"

Vritra was shocked. Sonído was a technique only available to mid-tier Adjuchas or higher-ranked Hollows. Yet, this Abnormal Gillian had already mastered it!

Watching from his hiding spot, Vritra felt a deep chill creeping into his bones.

"Am I really going to die right after reincarnating?" A bitter feeling welled up inside him.

The Abnormal Gillian opened its massive maw and stuffed the worm Hollow inside as if it were a mere snack. Within moments, it had devoured the creature whole. Without sparing a glance back, it turned and left.

"That was close... I almost got exposed!"

Just as Vritra was about to breathe a sigh of relief, the Abnormal Gillian suddenly stopped. Turning its massive head, it gazed directly at the sand where Vritra was hiding. A faint smirk appeared beneath its bone mask.

Then, without a word, it turned and walked away.

"Did it... notice me? But it thinks I'm too weak to be worth eating?"

Understanding the meaning behind its gaze, Vritra felt a deep sense of humiliation—yet also a strange relief.

"Alright, alright! You want to play it like this? Fine! One day, when I become an Adjuchas—or even a Vasto Lorde—I'll make sure you taste this humiliation for yourself!"

Glaring at the retreating figure of the Abnormal Gillian, Vritra swore vengeance—though only in the depths of his mind. He wasn't suicidal enough to say it out loud.

After waiting several hours to ensure the Gillian was truly gone, he finally crawled out from beneath the sand.

His gaze landed on the worm Hollow's lower half, which had been left untouched. Though its upper body had been devoured, the remaining flesh—mere scraps to a Gillian—was an absolute feast for him.

"Thank you for the meal, Brother Gillian!"

With that, Vritra gleefully dug in, already making plans to "go easy" on the Abnormal Gillian when he inevitably beat it to a pulp in the future.